 Along
the inner edge of Hawk Channel, washed by Channel Five
that runs between Craig Key and Long Key, are the remains
of the vice-flagship of the 1733 fleet. This 60-gun galleon,
nicknamed “The Cock of the Indies,” was owned
by the King of Spain and served as an armed almiranta, protecting
the rear of the convoy. Her master was Don Bernadino de
Maturana. When she grounded during the hurricane at Cayo
de Viboras (present-day Long Key), her registered cargo
included hundreds of boxes of silver coins and hundreds
of copper ingots belonging to the King, as well as cochineal,
indigo, vanilla, ceramics, and other New World cargos. As
the galleon flooded with sea water, four people, including
a child, perished in the event. Spanish documents indicate
that Almiranta’s cargo holds were immediately accessible
after the storm. Divers from salvage boats quickly recovered
all of the registered silver, most of the copper and other
cargos, including all of the ship’s fittings.
Situated in 14 feet
of water on a hard bottom scoured by the tidal flow
of the channels, a large pile of ballast stones, 140
feet long and 100 feet wide, mark the galleon’s
grave. The river-worn rocks range from quite large examples
of primary ballast, through medium-sized egg-shaped stones,
to smaller pea-sized pebbles, which were used as filler
ballast. In the central portion of the ballast mound,
one can see the remains of the ship’s keel, eroded
over the years by time and the sea. Other timbers are
probably still buried under the ballast. Marine life at
Almiranta is dense, varied, and colorful. Several kinds
of hard and soft corals have populated the site for countless
generations. Visitors to this marine oasis on the channel
bottom can identify dozens of species of reef fish that
have found shelter and sustenance at this unique location.
Location: 24° 48.633’N 80° 45.932’W
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